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Nicolas Sarkozy plans a personal account in the coming weeks named Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his time endured behind bars.

This news was made just 11 days following the ex-leader was released as his appeal proceeds the guilty verdict on charges of unlawful coordination regarding a scheme to obtain political financing provided by the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“In prison there is nothing to see, and activities are scarce,” he notes in a preview, suggesting the memoir will focus on his thoughts from isolation rather than extensive analysis regarding the strained and crisis-hit French prison system.

“I forget silence, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where there is a lot to hear,” he continues. “The din unfortunately never stops. Yet, similar to barren lands, personal reflection grows stronger behind bars.”

Court Appearance: Recounting the Hardship

During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy was present remotely from inside the facility, describing his time inside as draining. He stated to the judge: “I wish to commend to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this ordeal manageable – as it truly is one.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, extremely tough. It leaves a mark all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”

Unprecedented Situation

He, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as past president of an EU country and the first leader since WWII from France to be incarcerated.

Prior to imprisonment he mentioned he planned to utilize the opportunity to compose an account.

Cell Library

It is not certain whether he had time to go through the three books he had in his cell: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work the famous story, where an innocent man ends up incarcerated later flees to take revenge.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy was held in solitary confinement for his own security in a space of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom in the Paris jail in Paris. Security personnel stayed in a neighbouring cell.

Sources mentioned that he consumed solely dairy snacks during his stay because he feared prison cuisine might have been spat on. Although he had access for self-catering but refused this, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains if he will detail meals during incarceration.

Defense Viewpoint

His attorney, who saw him regularly daily while he was in prison, informed the court security would be better outside jail compared to inside. “He has faced menacing messages, heard shouts at night and emergency responses in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison last month following a Paris court gave him five years in prison for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to secure election financing for his presidential bid.

He maintains his innocence and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial planned for next spring.